Stanley Stallworth
Partner
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP coined the theme, “A World Within a Firm” in producing the firm’s first-ever diversity brochure, which highlights Sidley’s commitment to achieving greater diversity within not only the firm, but also in the legal profession as a whole.
Since the creation of a task force on minority recruitment and retention more than a decade ago, Sidley Austin Brown & Wood has been one of the most prominent and progressive proponents of law firm diversity. The firm has expanded recruitment efforts considerably to attract an increasing number of minority lawyers. In addition, Sidley’s on-campus recruitment programs now include law schools with a significant number of minority law students, where the firm did not traditionally recruit.
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood also participates in several regional job fairs, including the Southeastern Minority Recruitment Fair in Atlanta and the Cook County Bar Association Recruitment Fair.
In the past three years, each of the firm’s summer associate classes has been half female. In addition, 17 percent of the summer associates in the 2003 class were minorities. The firm also sponsors a number of scholarships, including the Wiley A. Branton Scholarship, awarded annually to the highest ranking first-year student at Howard Law School.
Sidley is also a proud supporter of an annual scholarship program sponsored by the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, which awards a scholarship to a deserving Hispanic student in the firm’s name.
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood offers firmwide mentoring programs, and encourages diverse lawyers to be active in a variety of bar associations. In 2001, the firm established two new committees: the Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity and the Committee on the Retention and Promotion of Women. During the past year, these committees have collectively hosted more than 15 programs and initiatives related to diversity and inclusion.
For these reasons, Sidley Austin Brown & Wood was one of six law firms profiled by Lawrence Graham in the article titled, “The Best Companies for Minorities: Employers Across America Who Recruit, Train and Promote Minorities.” Additionally, the firm was one of only three law firms to be named a 2003 preferred partner of Sara Lee Corporation, a distinction due in part to its commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Through ongoing dedication to recruiting, retaining, and promoting diverse lawyers, the firm aims to continue as a leader in providing equal opportunity and access to people of all backgrounds, races, and religious beliefs. Notwithstanding its successes, Sidley Austin Brown & Wood plans to continue to build upon its rich past and to develop progressive diversity initiatives which are even more dynamic and powerful than those approaches that have made diversity at the firm what it is today, “A World Within a Firm.”
From the November/December 2003 issue of Diversity & The Bar®